As GenAI changes how brands are discovered, interpreted and judged, chief marketing officers are facing a new category of threat: industrial disinformation. False or misleading narratives can now spread faster, scale further and do more damage to brand trust, customer relationships and business performance.
Gartner predicts that by 2027, 50% of enterprises will be investing in disinformation security products or services and TrustOps strategies, up from less than 5% today, underscoring how quickly this issue is becoming a business priority.
Andrew Frank, distinguished vice-president analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice, talks about why AI-powered disinformation is becoming a more urgent issue for marketers, and what CMOs can do to respond through TrustOps, stronger content authenticity practices and faster cross-functional coordination.
Why should CMOs be paying closer attention to AI-powered disinformation right now?
Because this is no longer a fringe problem. AI is making false and misleading content cheaper to produce, easier to personalize and faster to spread. That changes the risk profile for brands. A misleading narrative does not have to be true to do damage if it is amplified quickly enough and seen by the right audiences.
For marketers, that means disinformation is no longer just a cybersecurity, legal or public affairs issue. It is a brand issue. It affects trust, visibility and the way people interpret what they see about your company online. Marketers cannot afford to treat that as someone else’s problem when the fallout shows up in brand perception, customer relationships and loyalty.
What is TrustOps, and why does it matter for marketing leaders?
TrustOps is an operational approach to protecting trust. It brings together the people, processes and technologies needed to reduce the risks that come from misinformation, harmful associations and deceptive content. That matters for marketing because brands live or die by credibility.
Marketing may not own TrustOps end to end, but CMOs should absolutely have a seat at the table. They are closest to the content, channels and customer touchpoints where trust is built or broken. If the enterprise is going to certify authentic content, strengthen monitoring, and respond faster when false narratives emerge, marketing needs to be part of that system. Trust councils, stronger listening capabilities, and better narrative intelligence are all practical ways to start making that real.
“Disinformation is no longer just a cybersecurity, legal or public affairs issue. It is a brand issue.”
What practical steps can CMOs take to better protect their brands?
Start by assuming this will happen, not by hoping it will not. Most organisations still handle trust threats too reactively. CMOs should work with peers across communications, legal, security, data and technology to define clear ownership, escalation paths and response protocols before a problem hits. They should also invest in stronger content verification and certification, so it is easier for audiences to distinguish authentic brand content from manipulated or misleading material. Just as important, they need better listening.
If you cannot see how a narrative is forming, where it is spreading, and how quickly it is gaining traction, you are already behind. The goal is to move from ad hoc crisis response to a more repeatable capability that can detect, verify and respond with speed.
How should CMOs think about building trust in a ‘world without truth’?
They should treat trust as infrastructure, not just messaging. In a low-trust environment, it is not enough to communicate well. Brands need systems that support authenticity, transparency and rapid response across every touchpoint. That means being clearer about how AI is used, making it easier to verify the source of content and building the organizational muscle to act quickly when manipulated or misleading content appears.
The brands that will hold up best are the ones that make trust operational. That is really the central idea behind the Gartner book World Without Truth, which looks at how AI-driven misinformation and synthetic media are reshaping the competitive landscape for brands and why leaders need to prepare now to protect reputation and customer relationships.